Giancarlo Stanton trade to Yankees leaves Mets fans envious of what could be

As Giancarlo Stanton‘ trade to the Yankees becomes official, Mets fans will once again be envious of what their crosstown rivals can do in the offseason

The Miami Marlins have reportedly traded their biggest slugger to New York, but unfortunately, it’s obviously not the Mets. Giancarlo Stanton, the reigning National League MVP, will now join forces with the runner-up American League MVP in the biggest market in the world as they play for the New York Yankees. Cool.

The good news: Stanton will no longer be a Marlin as it seems like they’re in the middle of a pretty bad fire sale. The Marlins will probably be pretty bad in 2018, so that’s indirectly good news for the Mets.

The bad news: Mets fans will once again have to watch as a team that shares their same city acts and deals the way a team from New York should.

Don’t get me wrong, I despise the Yankees more than any other team in Major League Baseball, but they are doing exactly what I wish the Mets could do. Seeing the team from the Bronx make it to game 7 of the ALCS last season, and then improve their already solid team by adding the reigning NL MVP is infuriating. All it does is remind us how weak and small-minded ownership in Queens really is.

It’s true, the hot stove has been slow overall this offseason and most teams haven’t made big moves. But now that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels and Stanton is going to the Yankees, the Mets need to make some type of splash. And they need to do it soon.

The team can’t be stuck being linked to Mitch freaking Moreland (no offense, Mitch, I’m sure you’re a cool dude) as a solution for next season. No, now is the time to move some pieces around and make something work.

Give me Carlos Santana, JD Martinez. Trade for Manny Machado. Do something that will show this fanbase that you’re actually serious about winning because every time we look to the borough to the north, we’re reminded of what an actual winning organization looks like.

Hey Sandy, ask Jeff Wilpon to look between his couch cushions to see if he has a few extra million bucks in there somewhere so the team can sign a big name guy and eat up the salary of one that’s on the trading block.

Yes, I know they signed Yoenis Cespedes to a big deal last season, and I’m happy with it. Fine. But a team that intends to win championships can’t revolve around one guy, especially one that wasn’t been able to stay on the field much last season.

The focus for the Mets should be to acquire a bat (or two), and getting some pitching help both on the starting front and bullpen. As I type this out I’m sure the Mets will sign some low-risk, high-reward type of guys that could pan out like Addison Reed. But those are few and far between, and I’m frankly tired of rooting for a team that relies on that to have success instead of it just being a cherry on top.

Next: Mets club history with Japanese players

The pressure is on for Sandy Alderson and company to make the Mets look competitive for 2018. Surprise us, and prove us cynics wrong.